James Joseph O'Brien was born on 14 February 1909 in Outer Cove, Avalon Peninsula Census Division, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. He was the son of Maurice O'Brien and Margaret Hickey O'Brien.

James emigrated at age 21 to Boston on 29 May 1930 aboard the SS Nova Scotia where his surname is shown as "Brien" without the "O' ". He signed a US Draft Card on 16 Oct 1940 listing his employer as R. O'Brien & Co. and Next of Kin, his brother William Joseph O'Brien. James formally declared his intention to become a US Citizen on 19 Nov 1941.

James joined the SS Ballot which sailed from New York to Iceland and from there had joined convoy PQ13 bound for Murmansk. Convoy PQ 13 left Reykjavík on 20 March 1942. James' death details were a mystery to his living family members until 2021 when it was found that he survived the bombing of SS Ballot and was transferred to SS Induna, which itself was torpedoed.

James and 40 crew were taken to lifeboats and were picked up in the frigid Arctic waters by a Russian minesweeper on April 2nd. Sadly, James died April 12th in a Murmansk hospital from exposure and injuries suffered when abandoning the Induna.

His parents were not made aware of his death until July 1942 and his mother added his name to a family headstone in St. John's with the date 22 July 1942.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com